Monday, June 10, 2013

Lake Groton, Vermont

I had the chance today of paddling with a relatively new paddling group. It's called 'Sea Kayak Vermont!' and is slowly gaining more members as it becomes more well known. It's a low key, highly enthusiastic group of paddling folks who like to get out and explore some of the bigger and smaller lakes in Vermont. Today we had a look at Lake Groton located in the State Forest of the same name. We put in at Boulder Beach on the eastern shore, but there's also public access on the west side of the lake as well.

While it's definitely cottage country for large parts of the shore, there are some wilder sections, especially at the south end. There's a long stretch of shoreline cordoned off to allow the local loons to nest in seclusion. As if in return, they can be found everywhere on the lake often letting paddlers come up quite close to them, which is a rare treat on most lakes.

Just west of the dam at the south end is a little boulder strewn creek leading into a boggy area built by some beavers. Their dam is only about 10 inches high at the moment, but it has allowed a whole new area of marsh to exist behind it. They graciously constructed a turn-around pond just below the dam for us to retreat back out onto the main lake without having to back all the way out.

I'm looking forward to exploring more of Vermont's lakes in the coming months!

About Ckayaker

I'm a father, a seakayaker, a guitarist, a writer, a geocacher and a lover of all things arctic. I try to dream big, journey far, kayak well, and above all, cherish my family and friends.
I believe in self-sponsorship, Team Zero and being as carbon neutral as I can.

Geocacher Stats

"In life, asOn the water, letThe arch of the skyAnd the mightiness of stormsEncompass you.Tremble with joy!"

Quote from an Iglulik shaman recorded by Knud Rasmussen in 1921 in the 'Fifth Thule Expedition" volume on Igloolik.

• • •

"If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water." - Loran Eisley

• • •

"Remember that kayaking can be a lot like prostitution. First you do it for fun, then for friends, then for money..."

• • •

"Power your boat with carbohydrates not hydrocarbons"

• • •

"Life is about each moment of breath,Living is about each breathless moment!"

• • •

"She's all my fancy painted her, she's lovely, she is light.She waltzes on the waves by day and rests with me at night."

• • •

"There are no strangers,Only unmet friends..."

• • •

"I am a part of all that I have met;Yet all experience is an arch wherethroughGleams that untravelled world, whose margin fadesFor ever and for ever when I move.How dull it is to pause, to make an end,To rust unburnished, not to shine in use!As though to breathe were life."

... from Ulysses by Lord Alfred Tennyson

• • •

"Anyone who feels too small to make a difference has never spent a night in a tent with a mosquito."

...Lawrence Coady

• • •

"You don't get to choose how you're going to die. Or when. You can only decide how you're going to live. Now."